Can you do an HO scale garden railway.

[waltersrails]

Hi i'm new to garden railroader. Can you make an ho scale garden railroad?
If so how to start. Thanks.

[Rastun]

I was really starting to wonder why someone hadn't asked this question recently. Seemed like the trend was getting broken. The question has been asked and answered many times on this forum. Try a search for HO outside that should get you some results. To me personally there is to many obsticles to deal with for HO to be outside. Some have successfully some haven't. If you really want the HO outside try it and if it works great if it doesn't tear the track back up and chalk it up to experience.

[cacole]

To find out if it can be done, place a piece of HO scale flextrack and a cheap HO scale boxcar outside in the sun and weather for one month and see if they're even recognizable. HO track and rolling stock is not weatherproof or UV resistant. The sun will destroy HO track in short order.

[Marty Cozad]

I think track would be the biggest question. I don't leave my rolling stock out doors because of the envestment i have in them. ( I know some do)
I think size would be an issue with even a light wind to knock the train over.
Maybe try it, who knows. You may loose sight of the train when the grass grows to high.
Use N S track.

[John Busby]

Hi walterrails
In broken record mode it has been done before but it is not really practical to build a garden railway in anything smaller than"O" scale.
But if you insist go to your local hobby shop and try and get the little
Peco Shows You How booklet not sure of the exact title but it will specifie
OO scale rather than HO
You could also look up Peco's web site and see if that sheds any light on
the subject..
regards john

[siberianmo]

[2c] On the subject:

Of course - one could also do Z gauge, but would you want to [?]

When the folks at LGB developed their Garden Railways, durabiity was cranked into the product, track, loco's and rolling stock. I'm not familiar with anything in the HO line that can measure up to the elements.

Good luck!

[whiterab]

One comment on using smaller scales.

I continually amazed at how big the current project is when I have it on the work bench whether it's a building or a piece of rolling stock and how small it looks once it's placed on the layout. Anything smaller than G would just disappear into the background noise of the garden. Besides, my eyes are getting to old for HO.

[waltersrails]

Thanks for the replys.

[underworld]

Been done by quite a few people. Seems to be fairly popular in the UK. Do an internet search on OO Garden railway. I seen several in British magazines. Peco seems to be the track of choice.

underworld

[:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

I have somewhere a German book on outside trains, anything from hO to park trains. The main problem they mentionned was that many hO engine blocks are not very good enclosed, you can find them often with even exposed gears sticking out at the underside. Every single grain of sand will cause damage. So, if you want to try it, use a leaveblower on your tracks before running anything, and even then only select those engine that are motre or less enclosed.

While I normally (with G) would use powered track in this case a batterypack and a RC receiver in some cars would be my way to do it, I guess.

[Puckdropper]

QUOTE:
The main problem they mentionned was that many hO engine blocks are not very good enclosed, you can find them often with even exposed gears sticking out at the underside.

My N-scale locomotives are horrible about this. I'd think that just the stuff that exists inside would be enough to seal 'em up.

In my experience, however, the HO scale engines usually have their gear boxes covered. Whether or not they can stand up outside, I intend to find out... Some day soon.

[Anonymous]

HO.
Garden
Hmmmmm
Save your typing.
If you want to give it a try,then please do!
Small train.Tiny wheels.BIGGGGG leaf.
Please work it out for yourself.
I really do try to be good but the lack of basic brainpower in some people makes me mad.
Check previous posts,other forums and check the internet.
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

[vsmith]

Troy cut a couple H's off man!

Your warping the time/space fabric of this topic!

[railroadyoshi]

[#ditto]to vsmith

Sure the idea would work, just keep it in a PVC pipe the whole length[:D][:D][:D]
Would be kinda hard, though I guess possible. Perhaps one could run a cleaning car, pertaining to the leaf blower post, which could add to the operations.

[Anonymous]

As far as outdoor HO layouts, refer to the post on AUG. 12 th. My artical is dated AUG. 31 st. I wouldnt attempt
a garden layout ,but a board layout is feasable, for mine is a year and a half old. And still in great shape.
Turn to that post and read on. ( SMALL SCALE LAYOUTS)

joe (the outsider)

[Anonymous]

It's possible and can work well - you do need to do a lot more ground work than you would for large scale though. One layout I've seen in a magazine over here used reinforced concrete beams as the core of the structure (the builder cast concrete pillars with a piece of rebar in them using a cardboard mould, then cast a beam using wood shuttering and sand (again, with a piece of rebar as the core). The whole thing then had a layer of "rubbercrete" (concrete made with rubber granules rather than sand) laid on top to allow track pins to be knocked in. Be prepared to have to do a lot more maintainance than you need for larger scale as any obstruction on the rails will cause derailments rather than being knocked aside. Personally I keep the HO indoors and run G scale outside, the price of a complete train consist in G isn't really that much higher than for HO (a HO intermodal train will cost you roughly as much as a G scale branchline passenger train).

[rtstasiak]

We model several scales here at the ranch. Our outdoor G-guage traction layout is temporary, built on top of the native topography of our steeply graded cottage lot. Freight and passenger equipment only comes out for operating sessions, and the trackage stays up for 2 weeks or so. Perhaps this temporary railway is a solution in the smaller scales as well. One change that we're making is the use of treated wooden roadbed to keep plants, leaves, dirt, and lil' critters away from the rails, gears, and motors. This would really help the smaller scales with contact and dirt problems. I look forward to seeing HO or On30 running on Bachmann track up a healthy 10 percent grade!

[Anonymous]

You can but why would you?


Ian